Us or Gymnastics ?
by CrazyAnnoying
Summary: Cato and Clove are gymnasts and they're both known for their hard work, but what will happen if they meet each other? Will they focus or give in to love ? Please review and tell me what you think ! This is my second fanfic ! enjoy :
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER 1**

Clove's POV:

It's 6 am and I have to get ready for a long 8 hours at the gym for training so, I got up and put on my usual attire, my purple leotard , sweat pants and hoodie . Then I went down and ate breakfast of toast and eggs , then brushed my teeth and waited for Glimmer to finish up. "Come on Glimmer we're late ! " I screamed. "Coming !". She went out of the bathroom and wiped her mouth.

On our way to the gym I put my hair in a ponytail and as for Glimmer well… her usual routine: Hair, makeup ,perfume. I don't understand why she had to put on perfume when we're gonna sweat a lot. Oh well usual girlie girls.

We arrived at the gym and went in I removed my jacket , sweat pants and hoodie, and went over to Katniss , Rue, Kaylie and Payson to stretch. "So, we have a new gymnast. He's hot." Kaylie points at a blonde muscular guy and I have to admit …. He is hot ….. I did NOT just think about that.

After our stretches, our coach : Bela Karolyi , called me over to polish my beam routine since Nationals is in 3 weeks.

"Point your toes Clove!" He said while I'm doing the back handspring.

"Good now do a Double Arabian Dismount." I do what he says and I stick the landing.

…

"Who do you think is going to Nationals ?" Glimmer says as she joins us for lunch.

" I think Payson will get in since she's good in everything ." Says Katniss.

"Let's just pray that all of us gets in" Says Rue.

5 minutes later coach Bela brings in the National Gymnastics Committee or NGC people in to see us do our routines and later on chooses the gymnasts who will go to Nationals.

I'm up on floor first the, beam, then vault, then bars. I started with a round off triple twist and ended with a Front handspring flip. Beam went well and so did vault, but bars were a bit tense for me and I can see each of my friends, including my sister nail their routines . I finished my bars routine with an Arabian dismount and surprisingly nailed it .

30 minutes of deliberation from the NGC people and finally they're about to announce the girls who are going to Nationals.

"Payson Keeler , Kaylie Cruz , Katniss Everdeen , Glimmer Goldstein , Rue Fisher and Clove Glodstein." Atala says.

"I'm so proud of you girls ! " Coach Bela says .

"Congratulations Clove." I turn around to see the blonde boy smiling at me."Thanks. What's your name ?" I returned the smile ."Cato….Cato Mckibben" he says .

"CLOVE !" All of my friends screamed and hugged me. "WE'RE GOING TO NATIONALS!"

I see Cato smile and wink at me for no reason and my friends and sister saw it.

"Hey looks like there's something going on with you and the new guy." Glimmer teased .

"YIEEEEE" All my friends said in unison.

"No! We just met ! What's wrong with you? " I said .

"Nothing. Just making sure."

But the truth is I have a little crush on the guy … Wait….. NO ! I HAVE TO FOCUS ! AAHHHH ! God help me!

**An: Do you guys like it ? Should I continue? I'm making this a mash up of Hunger Games, MIOBI, and Fault In Our Stars. I dunno If I could put all those categories in one story , but I'm just gonna put it in Hunger Games Tell me what you guys think and don't be shy to correct me :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**An: Hey guys ! Thanks so much to the people who favorite, liked , and followed this story Here's chapter 2 enjoy ! :D**

**CHAPTER 2**

Clove's POV :

Nationals are coming in 3 weeks and I've been working so hard on one move ….The round off Arabian Dismount. This move is a must for me to qualify for the national team. They all say that It's my first year as a senior gymnast and I'm only 14, and I still have time to improve myself, but why wait if you can do all of it right now? I mean all I've ever dreamed of is to make the Olympic team, and that has been my goal ever since I was 4 and I've been working my ass off for it. Besides, Nadia Comaneci of Romania competed in the Olympics at age 14. If she can do it , I can do it too .

"Ankles together !" Coach reminded me.

I was about to dismount when my eyes started to blur, and I can feel my back hit the mat.

…..

I woke up in a hospital bed with my eyes blurry. When my vision cleared up, Cato was the first person I

saw .

"You okay ?" He asked.

"Yeah…..I'm fine. What happened?"

"You fainted while doing your bars routine."

"Oh"

Coach Bela comes in and started to ask me the same questions and gave him the same answers I gave Cato.

"You sit out in training for the mean time." Coach says.

"Nationals is in 3 weeks. I can't sit out now!"

"It's either you sit out or don't compete at all."

"Fine. But just for today." I told him.

*Nationals*

Today's the day …. The day that will hold my entire future. Heck I'm nervous ! My first year in Nationals as a senior….Just thinking about that makes me so nervous. Sure, I've been to Invitationals but, this time ….. much more people are watching and waiting for me to scratch any apparatus. Oh well I'll just go on with what I've practiced and imagine that no one is watching me.

"Up first on Uneven Parallel Bars. Katniss Everdeen !" the crowd cheered as she went towards the bars.

…..

Rotation 1 is done and up next for us is the balance beam. According to the score board ,Glimmer is the leading gymnast so far. I'm proud of my sister. I really am but I just can't help but think that she's younger and she's better. But that's all going to change on beam. It's my best event. I do my routine and land a triple twist with a perfect landing. I have got to beat her….. and there it is my score and I am now the leading gymnast.

…..

*Nationals Day 2*

The score board barely moved and I am still in the lead…Until Finch Vega had a perfect score on floor.

…..

This is it ….

"The bronze goes to …..Payson Keeler!" Yay for Payson ! she wins a medal and a spot in the national team.

"The silver goes to …. Finch Vega ! and …. The gold goes to ….. CLOVE GOLDSTEIN !" I can't believe it ! I won a gold and a spot in the national team !

"Way to go Clove !" as my team mates cheered and hugged me.

"See? Imagine what would happen if you didn't sit out." Coach reminds me of the 'I can't sit out now'

" _Katniss Everdeen, Glimmer Goldstein, Kaylie Cruz and Rue Simons also gets in the national team."_

Yup. This is officially the best day ever. I wonder if Cato got a spot in the men's team. I hope he does .

**An: I know … nothing much happened and yeah it was boring but I'm doing a Clato moment on the next chapter so stick around. Microsoft word doesn't wanna cooperate with me Anyways, sorry for the errors and misspelled words. Tell me what you guys think and I'll try to improve. KEEP CALM AND JUST REVIEW :D**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Cato's POV :

Nationals for the men's division has finally begun and so far a guy named Carter Greenday is on top of the score board. _I'm going to beat him for sure_, I thought with a smirk on my face. I'm up on the horizontal bar and did my flawless routine and landed perfectly and on that instant I was on top of the score board. _Ha! Beat that Greenday!_.

"Good job, Mckibben. " Says Carter with a huge grin on his face.

"Save it Greenday. I'll beat you and I'll be the national champ." I say with much confidence.

"You're on Mckibben, but remember to drink your steroids first before going up against me" he says with a smirk.

"Whatever Greenday. I'll crush you and send you home crying to your mom." Well ….. that shut him up.

At the end of the day I was the National champion and Carter was crushed. By that I meant he didn't make the National team. In case you are wondering why we're like this , well lest just say Greenday here is my cousin. He stole everything from me . The attention, My girlfriend (but I'm over her), Everything. So, on my 13th birthday I swore to myself that I'll beat him in every way and since then , I've succeeded.

Clove's POV :

Just got home from Nationals and I'm so tired and everything is just starting to sink in. I'm the National champ. That's one step closer to the Olympics ! Goodness ! All this is so overwhelming and the best part is all my friends and my sister got in too! Mom calls me to dinner and everyone in the room started to congratulate me and told me that I deserved it. Even dad is crying because of joy !

After dinner I watched a bit of TV then got ready for bed, thanked God for everything that had happened and fell asleep.

…..

The next morning was a Sunday . Which means, no training today. I went to the kitchen to find a plate of eggs and bacon sitting on the table. Since no one was there claiming it, I assumed it was mine so I ate it. Then mom comes in.

"Good Morning Clove!"

"Morning mom"

"You have a homecoming parade tomorrow with the men's National champion , Cato Mckibben."

Cato won! Wow congrats to him.

"Really … okay then."

"You don't mind ? After all he's a guy and we all know that you're uncomfortable with guys."

Which is true . Whenever a guy comes near me , it's either I blush or snap at them for no reason, and to make matters worse , I have a happy crush on Cato. Some luck.

"Yeah I don't mind." I answered her.

"Okay. Oh by the way , we're having a picnic later so bring the stuff that you need ." Mom informs me.

"Okay"

…..

I slip on a red tank top and a pair of denim shorts together with my high tops and put my hair in a high ponytail , grab my sunglasses and my bag then went down the stairs to meet up with mom and dad on the couch.

*10 minutes later*

"Glimmer hurry up !" I screamed as everyone was waiting for her to finish up.

"Coming !" She went down with full make up on and pink dress that stops above her knees with a white cardigan and brown boots.

"Goodness Glimmer we're not going to a party. You don't have to be all dressed up for a family picninc." I told her.

"I know but we're going out and I want to look my very best." She says as she flips her hair. The usual girly Glimmer. I mean who wears a dress and full on make up when you know you're going to be sitting on the grass and running around the park since your little brother often asks you to play catch and games like that? Well anyways that's Glimmer for ya !

We arrived at the lake and parked the car. Got our stuff out of the van and walked to the bed of grass.

"Clove ! Let's play Frisbee!" says Dylan (my 6 year old brother)

"Sure kiddo!" I told him with a genuine smile. Dylan grabbed a Frisbee a threw it as hard as his little arms can and it went farther than I expected so I chased it and caught it. I went back and threw the Frisbee as gently as I could so he can catch it . After minutes of running around and climbing trees , Mom finally said its time to eat.

We had pasta and pizza with us so we ate it together with a fruit slushy to go with it and some watermelon.

After eating we rested for a few minutes until Catherine (my 8 year old sister) suggested that we should go swimming.

"Did you guys bring extra clothes, towels and bathing suits?" Mom asked .

We all said yes and started changing into our swimsuits and headed off to the lake. Everyone was in the water but Glimmer was just there reading her book.

"Hey Glim ! Wanna join?" I asked her.

"No thanks I don't wanna ruin my makeup."

"Okay then."

I went back to the lake with a prank forming in my head and eventually I told Dylan and Catherine the plan and they agreed to it. So, they went up to Glimmer and they convinced her to go to the edge of the lake , I went under water to wait for my signal.

"Clove ! Where are you?" That's my signal. So, I emerged from the water a grabbed Glimmer's wrists and dragged her in the water with me. Dylan and Catherine jumped in and laughed their butts off with me.

"You should have seen your face when Clove got out of the water !" Catherine says.

"That's not funny ! Do you even realize that I don't have any extra clothes ?!" she screamed as she go out of the water.

"We know, but I have extra clothes. You can borrow them." I told her.

"UUUGGGGHHH !" she screams as she stops off.

…

I got out of the water when suddenly Dylan threw a ball and Catherine was about to go for it but I went instead. While chasing after the ball I bumped in to no other than Cato.

"Hey" He says.

"Hey" I said and I blushed cause I'm in a two piece swimsuit and he's right in front of me.

"So, what brings a gymnast like you in a swimsuit out here in the lake ?" As he said swimsuit I blushed even harder but it's a good thing that my blush is not as worse as Katniss. I mean hers is like beet red and mine is like that light pink so you won't see it that much. \

"Oh nothing just having a day in the lake with the family. How about you what brings you here?"

"Getting some fresh air."

"Ohh. Look I gotta head back they might be looking for me."

"Oh okay see you tomorrow."

"See you"

That went well. I went back and Dylan was there waiting impatiently.

"What took you so long?" He whined.

"I just got lost. The ball went farther that I thought." I lied. I can't let him know that I saw Cato here.

"Get ready guys we're leaving!"Mom informed us.

…..

We're all dressed up ready to go and I see Glimmer wearing my Aeropostale shirt and beach shorts and her boots . We all got our stuff , went back to the car then went on our way back home. Tomorrow is going to be an exhausting day…

**An: Hello my readers! So I've decided to change the title since I'm thinking of using that title for my next fanfic since it fits better . So yeah and thanks to everyone who reviewed, favorite, and followed this story also give me suggestions and tell me what to improve on and ….. I can make Cato cocky but not mean, but I promise to make him mean on my next fanfic ! :DDD Please review !**


	4. NOT A CHAPTER ! I'M VERY SORRY !

**I'm very sorry for the AN ! According to my grades , I need less updating , more studying. So , I won't be updating as often as I usually do, but our semestral break is coming up soon and I will update more during that week at the same time , working on my other fanfic and the new one so, yeah. I REALLY SORRY ! PLEASE DON'T KILL ME ! ****((((((**


	5. Chapter 4

**An: Hey guys ! I haven't updated for a while now but finally I'm free ! But sadly , my semestral break is almost over. Next Monday I'll be going back to school and I'll be busy again for sure T_T . Anyway, enjoy this chapter ! :D**

CATO'S POV :

I woke up the next morning feeling a little bit weird since I'll be with Clove the whole day. I know it will be awkward for her. Why ? Because we're guys obviously . I got up , took a brief shower, then went down for breakfast.

"Good Morning Cato ." Says mom

"Morning mom." I kissed her temple. " What's for breakfast ? "

"Toast , eggs and bacon. The usual."

"Great."

I went to the cupboard and grabbed the coffee and sugar and decided to make myself and mom a cup.

"Want some coffee mom ? "

"Sure."

"With milk or just plain black."

"Just plain black with a bit of sugar." She told me with a smile.

"Okay."

After breakfast, I set out to the gym where the welcoming parade will start and t the same time will end.

I got there as Clove and Glimmer were arriving. I suddenly felt embarrassment. Tot think that I'll be riding in the same car with her , waving at the screaming crowd. But I shake those feelings off.

CLOVE'S POV :

I get out of the car and the first person I see is Cato walking by. _He looks extra good today._ I thought. What the heck am I thinking ?! How could I even say he looks good? I mean he does but , I'm feeling weird. Maybe because I'll ride in the same car with the dude later. Oh well.

I go inside the gym and see Kaylie with a big grin on her face. "What ?" I asked her.

"Nothing." She replies.

"Well, good morning to you too then." I return her grin.

Katniss, Glimmer and Payson huddling and I can hear Katniss say "Oh she has no idea." Then Glimmer starts to giggle. I wonder what's that about…

…..

"You have to hold hands." Dina Kreiggs , an NGO official who was sent to organized and make sure everything goes the way it was planned.

"WHAT ?!" Me and Cato says at the same time.

"You have to. But don't worry , It's just to please the crowd." Dina assures.

"But still …. He's ….. he's a guy !" I practically scream.

"I know it's uncomfortable, but , I have to make sure you guys do it or I'll get fired." Dina says.

"Fine. We'll do it. Just no more pictures with us together please." Cato says. And what ? Who says I'm gonna do it ?

"Cato….. uhhh… May I talk to you ? Privately?" I ask him.

"Uhhh. Sure."

CATO'S POV :

Clove practically dragged me over to one corner and screamed :

"We'll do it ?! HOLD HANDS ?! ARE YOU CRAZY !?"

"Chill Clove. It's just a crowd pleaser anyway and I told them no more pictures after." I told her.

"But still ! Holding hands ?! "

I can tell from her voice that she doesn't want to hold my hand or even come so close to me that we're touching. I also heard that she's uncomfortable with boys. It's not like she despises them or anything but, It seems like she just doesn't want to go near them. Maybe she thinks of us boys as malicious and cocky.

"Hey Clove, I'm not going to do anything inappropriate to you. I'm just going ton hold your hand as an act.

"I guess you're right. And besides, Ms. Kreiggs here might lose her job because of me." She says with sadness in her eyes. Gosh I hate to see her like this. Wait ….. I do ?

"Yeah." I scratched my nape. " So what do you say ? "

"Okay. I'll do it."

….

The crowd loves our act. As we wave and smile at them, their screams get louder and louder. The celebrities must feel this way too. I mean, it's overwhelming.

"Hey Clove. How are you doing over there ?" I ask out of concern.

"I'm OK. This is just ….. Wow. I have no idea the crowd would be this thick!" She says, obviously , amazed.

"Yeah. So this is what fame feels like." I say.

"I know right ? "

CLOVE'S POV :

This is ….. amazing. I had no idea there would be a lot of people here in this welcoming parade. I mean, the crowds cheering is amazing. It's really good to know that you have a lot of people admiring you.

With all this amazement, I almost forget that I was holding Cato's hand the whole time. The parade is done we let go of hands and as Dina promised , no more pictures with us together, but we had a separate photo shoot.

To be honest this day turned out well. I feel less awkward around with Cato now, but I'm still quite shy around the guy so… yeah. Katniss , Glimmer , Payson and Kaylie approached me with big smiles.

"So, how was the parade for you ? Enjoyed you little bonding time with Mr. Hottie over there? " Glimmer asked in her usual girly voice.

"It was OK I guess." I told her.

"Yeah sure It was 'OK'." Payson says.

"Hey ! You're blushing !" Kaylie practically screams.

"I am not !" I say but ,to be honest , my cheeks feel hot.

"Oh yeah you are. Just look at yourself." Katniss says.

"Anyway , So what do you guys want to do after ?" Glimmer asks,

"Let's go watch a movie….. How about The Three Stooges or Hotel Transylvania !? " Payson suggests.

" Great idea ! I'll go with Three Stooges." Kaylie says and everyone agrees.

We head to the movies and guess who we saw there. Cato. With his friends . Entering the same cinema as we are.

**An : Oooohhh what will happen now ? Please review ! 3 chapters and only 4 reviews ! Come one guys ! Tell me what you think whether good or bad ! :D**


	6. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 6**

One of Cato's friends, Marvel, I think. Waves at us. "Hey girls!" Marvel says. "Hey! What brings you guys here?" Glimmer asks. Oh she's good at this. Well, what can you expect of Glimmer? She's a girly girl after all. "To celebrate Cato's victory. I see you girls came to celebrate Clove's as well." I was surprised he noticed me. Well of course he would. I'm right in front of him. "Yeah. I guess this is our way of celebrating victory as being the National champion." I say. "Let's get in shall we? I mean, The movie's about to start." Kaylie says. "Yeah we don't want to be late now do we?" Katniss says.

The movie starts and unfortunately for me, Cato's seat is right beside me. I have to contain myself if ever. It's the middle of the movie and Sofia Vergara gets out of her car and going towards those three guys and she asks the boys to do her a favor that would merely cost her $830,000 that the boys need to save their orphanage.

Throughout the movie, I felt bad for those boys. Then Cato speaks up. "How's it going there? You've be awfully quiet." He says. Is he concerned? " Oh nothing just enjoying the movie." I say. Way to go Clove. "It's amusing isn't it? How those boys fought for their orphanage." He says. " Yeah. How brave." I wish I was as brave though.

The movie ends with a happy ending. _How touching._ I thought. Sometimes, this movie make me think of not growing up. If we could just reverse everything. Just like that movie with Brad Pitt in it. But I guess it's better this way.

"Hey why don't we all go to that pizza place!" Payson suggests.

"Sure. Why not? Since we're all here." Peeta says.

We go to this place called Pizza Italiana and order pizza and a bit of pasta.

"Since we're all here, why don't we get to know each other better?" Thresh suggests.

"Good idea. Let's start with you boys then." Glimmer says.

We start with Peeta with being the baker's son, then Thresh with both parents being gymnasts, Then Marvel being a politician's son, then Cato, with a huge gymnastics family.

"Now, that you guys said everything about you, Our turn." Glimmer says.

We tell the info about each other and of course, Glimmer being Glimmer suddenly talks for everyone. Then Kaylie sees a piano and says the last thing I want to hear.

"Hey Clove, you play the piano right? There's one over there so, mind playing for us."

"Uhhhh… I don't know …I-" Stammered out.

"Come on! Unleash the other talent in you!" Glimmer says. Then everyone agrees and I'm stuck without knowing what to play. They managed to force me so much that I got off my seat and head to the piano.

"Any requests?" I ask them.

"Up to you." Payson says.

I positioned myself on the piano and started to play Kiss The Rain by Yiruma. My fingers danced on the black and white keys and as I finished. Everyone looked amazed. This was my fear. I've played in public and even competed but my skills weren't good enough to match others. When I was in junior high, I entered a competition. It was clear to everyone that I was better than the others, but I lost to some older guy. _Entering was a waste_. I thought. I never dared to play in public. I would play, but I'd do it at home. Or someplace where no can hear me. But now, I finally broke out of my slumber from playing it in public.

CATO'S POV:

Her playing was beautiful. Her emotions were shown. It was sad. As if remembering bad memories, but, as she finished it, sadness was replaced with relief. I wish I could hear more.

**An: Hey guys! :D You know, more reviews would be appreciated. It actually inspires me to write more. Tell me what are the errors in this fan fic so I can change for the better**** Please Review. I hope you guys liked this chapter **** Bye**


	7. Chapter 6

CHAPTER 7

CATO'S POV:

It's been three weeks since the homecoming parade and until now, the media has been in the gym watching me and Clove train and see if we get along well. So, far it's not so good. We talk but, whenever we do it's just she's so uncomfortable. I understand that especially that she's a girl, but her case is just so extreme to the point that I'll have to start the conversation myself. But after sometime talking, she falls silent and won't talk unless I talk. Maybe she had bad experience with guys or maybe she just doesn't like us. Whatever her reason is, I have to at least befriend her. Even for a bit.

I walked up to Clove after the press left. I have to at least try to talk to her to be an actual friend of hers. Oh well. Here goes nothing.

"Hey Clove." I start.

"Oh. Hey Cato."

"When did you start playing the piano?"

"I was five years old when I first started. My first piece was Chopsticks. I forgot who wrote it though."

"Really? Wow….. Did you enter competitions or did you have recitals?"

"Yeah. I entered an interschool competition once in junior high. And I placed second. How about you? Any instruments you play?" She surprisingly asked.

"Nope. But I wanted to play the guitar."

"Really!? Go on it's never too late to start learning an instrument."

"Yeah. I wanted to play ever since I was six."

"Aww too bad. Why did you not play? Does your parents object or what?"

"No. It's just that if I we're to play the guitar I'm going to have to save up for the instrument."

"Oh. How much would a normal guitar cost?"

"Usually, it's about twenty five dollars but I want a high quality guitar so it would cost me about two hundred dollars."

"Wow. So expensive."

"Yeah. It's just too bad that I spend my money too quickly." Clove laughs and fall silent. As expected.

CLOVE'S POV:

It's amazing to get to know Cato like this but the problem is, after one topic, I don't know what to say. I feel ashamed that he always had to start the topic. I mean he's a guy. I just can't tell him everything. What do I say? _Hey do you have a girlfriend?_ No. I can't say that. _So, what up with life?_ Can't say that either. I don't want him to feel weird by asking that. It's like getting personal with him. Then he speaks up.

"Hey Clove, I know that you're not comfy with boys, but I'm curious. Why?" He asks. I don't know what to say. I don't want to talk about the past because makes me forget the bad memories I had. But I have to try to talk to him at least. It's just a shame to see that the dude is giving so much effort to talk to me and I'm just here shutting up. "My mom used to tell me that if something bothers you, sometimes it's better to tell other people whatever is on your mind and so far, it helped me let things easily slide." He says.

"It's hard Cato. I don't talk about it because it only brings back those bad memories. They haunt me Cato. I'm sorry." I say.

CATO'S POV:

I understand Clove. I feel so sorry for her. Now I know a part of why she's quite anti-social with us boys. But she also must understand that not all of us are what she think we are.

I'm about to walk out of the gym when Glimmer suddenly grabs my arm. "Can we talk? It's about Clove." She says in a hushed tone. "Why? What up with her?" I ask. "That's exactly why I want to talk to you." She drags me in to a corner and she looks around to see if anybody's there.

"Look, don't ever try to convince Clove to talk about her past. She has this anxiety that tends to worsen if you mention 'sixth grade memories' to her especially when it involves guys." She starts with anger in her voice. "I was just curious. I wanted to know why she's so uncomfortable to us men. Besides what happened during sixth grade?"

"Do you really want to know why?" I nodded

"Before she met Katniss, Payson, and Kaylie, she used to be bullied by guys back in junior high. Eighth grade to be exact. They called her sick, anorexic, stick girl and all kinds of things concerning her body because she was 'too thin'. They even touched her parts and they would comment that it's too small. After gym class, girls would take pictures of her dressing up in a cubicle and show them to the popular guys. After that, the guys would post the pictures on the bulletin board. She just releases all her anger during training." Glimmer started.

"That's terrible." Is all I can say.

"Yeah. She cried every night because of it. Then one time, a boy who never talked to her said that he liked her. Clove was shocked because nobody in the school liked her for who she is. After sometime talking, they seemed to become close and eventually they became a couple. Then he cheated on her with a cheerleader and she saw it. The boy just stood there as if he didn't know her. He even told her that he never really liked her. He just told her that to mess with her."

"That jerk….. Do you know his name?" I ask her.

"If I remember correctly, his name is Carter Greenday ." I was shocked. "Carter Greenday? Are you sure?" I ask.

"Yeah. If it's not him then I don't know who." She says. I told her to continue the story and she did.

"Clove punched the guy and the girl slapped her. She fought back but the girl had people on her side and those people beat Clove up. She started cutting herself that night because she liked him back. She actually tried to kill herself by drinking rubbing alcohol but I stopped her just in time. Our parents had her checked up and they diagnosed her with anxiety. We switched schools a week later and everything went better. She entered clubs and made friends but her anxiety remains." She finishes.

"Wow. I never thought that her past was so terrible to the point that it still haunts her." I say.

"Yeah so please continue to talk her but you have to be a bit patient for her to fully warm up to you." She says. "Of course. I'll do that." I say.

"Good. I got to go. Mom and Clove's probably wondering where I am."

"Bye." I say.

"Bye and remember what I told you." Glimmer says as she leaves.

Now that I know what Clove went through, I must do something to change her perspective towards us men. But how would I do that?

**An: This chapter is dedicated to Amanda Todd. I just saw her video yesterday and I couldn't believe that bullying would go that far. I know that there are cases much more worse than hers but, no matter how big or small the bullying is, it's still bullying. We're still hurting other people's feelings. I admit that I can be a bully sometimes and I can't help it but, that's not an excuse. We have to at least be nice to other people even though we don't like the person.**

**Bullies also start from bullies. As long as there's a bully, or even parents who are abusive to their children or parents who go into drugs and alcohol and influence their children to go mad, there will always be bullies. One example of bullying is racism. So, what if the person is black, white, Asian or any race, we're still people. But we can lessen the amount of bullies by starting to show the love of God by caring about each other and understand the things other people go through and most importantly to be brave. Brave enough to stand up to those bullies and show them that they can't hurt you. They can't break you to bits and please don't ever think of committing suicide. I thought of that once and what did it cost me? More insults. Everything's going to be fine. Remember that God put you in this situation to make you stronger. **

**I'm sorry this AN is so long. I just had to say that :))) Anyway have a good day and remember everything I told you. **


	8. Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

It's snowing and I'm really lazy to get out of bed. "Clove!" Mom shouts. "I'll be right there!" I shout back. I dragged myself out of bed and went in the bathroom and in the shower. Once the water hits me, I jolt awake. I finish up and got dressed into a thick black sweater with thick red pants. I matched it with a white scarf and put on my combat boots. I decided to skip the face and do it in the car instead. I grabbed my friend's presents and Peeta's since I'm his secret Santa this year. At first, I was panicking because I don't know what to get him. Then Glimmer told me that he loves anything batman so, I got him the entire trilogy.

"Good morning sleepy head" Dad greets me

"Morning dad." I kissed his cheek and turn around, hitting his face with my wet hair.

"Ooops sorry dad." I say as he rubs his chin.

"Put some make up on will you?" Glimmers scolds me.

"I'll do it in the car." I told her as I grabbed my cup and made myself coffee and had some toast with scrambled eggs. Everyone's done with their breakfast and heads to the car. I open my bag and grabbed my makeup kit that consists of BB cream, pressed powder, eyeliner, mascara, lip balm, lip gloss and lip and cheek tint. I do my face and I finish up just when the car stops in front of the gym.

"See you guys later have fun!" Mom calls.

"Yeah. Bye!" I call out.

"So, what did you get Marvel?" I ask Glimmer.

"A Wii game." She answers simply. And all I can say is 'Oh'. We enter the gym and everyone is gathered in a circle. "Oh great timing girls! We're about to play truth or dare!' Coach says. Great. I've always disliked that game. Payson cranks up her iPod and we all pass a ball around. The ball lands on Glimmer as the music stops.

"Truth or Dare?" Katniss asks her.

"Uhh….dare?"

"I dare you to give Marvel a lap dance." Katniss snickers.

"Pfffttt easy." Glimmer says. Payson plays sexy music to set up the mood and everyone is making wolf whistles. Glimmer finishes her dance by giving Marvel the 'call me' sign. Payson plays normal music again and this time the ball lands on Cato's hands. "Truth or Dare?" Glimmer grins. "Dare." He says. "Okay then. I dare you to kiss Peeta and it can't be on the cheek and it has to last at least ten seconds." She says. Cato grunts. He's about to do it just then Kaylie stops them and put a mistletoe above them. "Carry on." Kaylie smiles. Cato crashes his lips on Peeta and we all count and they decided to play along so Peeta acted like a girl and pretended to like the kiss and Cato was up for the game so he played along. We all laughed and Katniss decided to take a video of it so she pulled out her phone and recorded it. After a good ten seconds, they pull apart and they gag. We all laugh hysterically.

"Were you able to get everything?" Rue asks Katniss.

"Yup!" Katniss exclaims.

"You got that on tape?!" Peeta exclaims wide eyed.

"Yup!" Katniss laughs.

"That better not reach the internet."Cato threatens.

"Too late!" Glimmer beams.

"What?!" They both scream.

"Oh look, thirty views on Its first minute." Rue chuckles. Cato soon laughs it off and so does Peeta. Even coach laughs with us. The ball is passed around again and this time, it falls on my hands. Oh shoot.

"Truth or Dare." Cato asks me. Since I'm feeling a little brave… "Dare." I say.

"Seriously? Clove? Dare?" Payson looks at me. I nod.

"Okay then, I dare you to give Peeta a makeover." He grins. "With pleasure." I say.

"Hey! Why am I victim here?" Peeta exclaims.

"Come on! Quit your whining and go with Clove." Katniss grins.

"Fine." Then he mutters something I don't understand.

"You better make me look pretty." He says while batting his lashes.

"I'm going to make you look stunning." I say. I asked Glimmer for her makeup kit and went straight to work. I gave Peeta a smoky eye and red, glossy lips. I show my work to everyone and they all started laughing and Marvel says, "Looks good on you!" and Thresh says, "It fits you very well." He says snickering. Peeta looks at the mirror and says, "You actually made me look like a girl. Good job Clove!" He stands up to wash the makeup but Kaylie snaps a picture of him.

The game ends with Rue getting kissed by Thresh and Coach doing his old floor routine. "Okay It's time to reveal our secret Santa/s " Coach beams at us. It turns out that Cato got me and Marvel got Glimmer and Peeta got Katniss and Katniss got Kaylie and Kaylie got Payson and Payson got Coach and he got Rue and she got Thresh who got Peeta. Everyone opens their presents and Cato got me a Nail polish set. And Glimmer got a stuffed reindeer. We all greeted each other a Merry Christmas and that ends our little gathering.

"Merry Christmas Clove." Cato greets me.

"Merry Christmas Cato." I greet back and blush.

"You know, we can be friends if you want." He tells me.

"Okay then." I say. I let myself loosen up and think to myself that not every guy in this planet is like that jerk Carter.

"Want to hang out somewhere?" I ask him.

"Sure." He answers. I walk with him and I can't help feeling safety when he's around. It's weird though but some part of me wants to think that he's a nice guy and he's really sweet. But a part of me also says that he's a guy and you can't trust guys that easily because you have no idea on what they're gonna do. But I see his effort to really befriend me. So, from this day forward I will treat him as a friend.

**An: Merry Christmas! And I know it's late. But I still wanted to do a Christmas special so, here you are. Enjoy the holidays my friends and make the most of it! But also remember that Christmas is NOT all about thr presents. But it's all about JESUS. Enjoy! :D**


	9. Chapter 9

**An: Before you get a glance on this chapter, I just want to tell you how sorry I am for not updating for approximately, two or three months. I feel terrible for not updating. I was really busy with school work and my final exams just ended. Summer has begun for me, but I still have review classes for college entrance exams for the whole month of April. But I will definitely update more. Same goes with my other stories. I hope that you guys didn't have the impression that I had given up on this story. Once I start a story, I will finish it.**

**I'm really sorry for not updating. I thank all of you for the comments and favorites. I also thank all of you who still read this story after those two months of being silent. My depression is getting in the way that sometimes, I'm not in the mood for anything, except food and sleep. Anyway, enough with this AN. Lets' get to the chapter.**

CHAPTER 9

Clove's POV:

Cato and I had gotten closer ever since Christmas. My group of friends had been hanging out with his. We go see movies, eat, bowl, arcade, and lots more. We have all gotten so close that even some of them got into relationships. Take Glimmer and Marvel for example. They've been inseparable ever since they got together, about three months ago. They would make out, go on dates and do other things normal couples do. Except that they call each other disgusting things like, dog poo or cockroach, anything that disgusts you out. And they wear matching clothes every time we all get together. They even have matching gym clothes!

The other couple was Katniss and Peeta. If you think that Glimmer and Marvel were weird, these two are much weirder. There was never a day that they wouldn't insult each other, to the point of them practically screaming at one another. At the end of that day, they would make out and laugh at each other. Then the same thing goes for the next day. They have a love-hate relationship, which I think everyone loves. It's entertaining but at the same time, scary because their insults at each other were frequently, offending. I don't even know how they manage to stay together.

As for Cato and I, we joke each other around, talk, share problems, or I just simply hang out at his place or mine and do a movie marathon, play a video game, or stalk celebrities. The usual things friends do. And to be honest my crush on him has been growing too.

This weekend, Glimmer invited everyone for a sleep over (including the boys), since our parents were out of town for three days. We told the boys to take my older brother's room and us girls will take my room.

"So, what movie will we watch?" Payson asked.

"Make it a horror movie so it would be fun." Peeta said.

"No way! We won't be able to sleep!" Katniss protested.

"That's the point! Where's the fun in there?"

"Horror movies are not fun to watch."

"Aww is Katniss scared?" Peeta jokes her. Here we go again. We all groan and some even does the facepalm.

"No I'm not scared. I just don't want to watch it."

"Oh really?" Peeta mocks her.

"Really."

"Okay, that's enough. We all get to decide which movie to watch." Kaylie breaks the fight.

"Why don't we flip a coin?" I suggest.

"Good idea. So that no one would protest." Cato said and he got up to get a coin. He came back with a quarter with him. "Okay which is which?" He asks. "Horror gets heads and chick flicks gets the tails." Kaylie suggested. Cato flips the coin. He lets it drop to the floor so no one would say he cheated. The coin lands and the heads were shown.

"Horror wins!" Peeta said. He and Marvel high-five each other, while Glimmer and Katniss sits there sulking. "Don't worry earthworm. Hold my hand if you get scared." Marvel smirked at Glimmer. "As if I will get scared." Glimmer said. Then Peeta challenges everyone with a bet. "Whoever will finish the movie without getting scared or even covering their eyes with their hand or something, will receive five bucks from each person who got scared." He said. All the boys were game, then they turned to us.

"I'm in." I said.

"So am I." Payson said.

"Deal." Katniss and Glimmer said in chorus.

"Me too." Kaylie said.

"Great." Marvel says.

Everyone searched the internet for the scariest movies. We all came to an agreement to watch The Grudge.

Everyone had their game faces on and the movie started. The first few parts were a bit terrifying but not enough to make me flinch or cover my eyes with a pillow. Thirty minutes of the movie has passed and everyone was still complete. Then, some woman in white was flashed on the screen. Her face has a lot of blood, her eyes are huge, her teeth are as sharp as needles, and her hair looks like it has never been brushed.

Glimmer, Katniss, and Kaylie screamed. While Peeta and Marvel jumped off the couch and ran out of the room. We all laughed and all those who either ran or screamed were out of the game. So much for the challengers.

Cato, Payson, Thresh, Rue and I were left in the bet. Another scary part flashed on the screen, The Rue and Thresh scrambled on their feet to get a pillow. That leaves Me, Cato, Payson to the bet. Another scary part was shown and Payson screamed then cried. Why wouldn't she be crying? That was the scariest part of the movie and It didn't make me flinch. Weird right?

As the movie ended, Cato and I never flinched, went to the bathroom, stood up, or even covered my eyes. Therefore, we had a tie. The boys and the girl's wouldn't believe that I lasted the whole movie without getting scared, even the tiniest bit. So in short, they had to pay me and Cato five dollars each.

The others were already asleep after a long night of Just Dance 4 and 3 and did a bit of video making. Cato and I were still up playing Call Of Duty. Marvel and Peeta were snoring so loud that we couldn't hear the sounds anymore. Cato put down the game console and started taking pictures of everyone. I put down the game console and joined him. He looks at me with a huge grin on his face.

"What?" I asked him.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" He asked. I too at least five seconds to get him. I return his grin and he whips out his video camera out of his bag. He turns it on and hits the record button.

"Hey guys, I'm here with Clove Goldstein." He says then turns the camera at me. The he rants about his weekly embarrassing videos of Peeta and Marvel. I didn't even know he has a YouTube channel. He finished ranting and he turns the camera to me and I start describing what going on. I said that we are having a sleep over and we're making an embarrassing video on all of them sleeping and snoring.

We finish the video and we turned off the TV. Cato and I just sat there talking about random stuff. Then he asks me who I like. I didn't tell him the truth though, so, I told him that I have a crush on that actor Orlando Bloom.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA! What?! He's too old for you, and he's married and he already has kid." He said.

"I know but he's so handsome during Lord Of The Rings!" I tell him. He just laughs.

"Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"How about you? Who do you like?" I asked him.

"Miranda Kerr." I get it.

"That's his wife!" I said.

"I know. I'm just playing with you!" He laughs.

"No seriously, who do you like?" I asked him.

"Do you really want to know?" I nodded. He pulls me close and crashes his lips onto mine. His lips are gentle on mine. He starts to deepen it and the next thing I know is that we're making out. He pulls away with both of us gasping for breath.

"Now you know."

**An: Hi Guys! Enjoyed this chapter? If you did review below. If you didn't, review below! I hope you liked this chapter. I know it's all mushy and stuff.**


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